WWE RAW Reaction 5/6/2014: The Shield Succumbs to Evolution

Last night’s show opened with a 20-man over-the-top battle royal… and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. We’ve seen how many of these matches in the last month? I get the storyline reasons. Still, witnessing yet another “get everybody in the ring at one time” match hurt my brain a little. These become less exciting every time we see them.

But kudos to Sheamus for walking away with fresh championship gold. Hopefully this is the start of a heel turn. At the very least, maybe he’ll bring back the red-and-white trunks. With the announcement that he will defend his belt on Friday Night Smackdown, the United States championship feels more like a TV-level championship every week.

Rob Van Dam fought Cesaro in a very entertaining match. DQ was a smart finish here.

Is The Brotherhood disbanding or not? Are Curtis Axel and Ryback being pushed, or just filling time? When will we ever see Cody Rhodes back in a main-event angle? Until those questions are answered, count me out.

The Cinco De Mayo celebration is where RAW started losing its luster. It’s bad enough that creative is heavily featuring Hornswaggle, 3MB, El Torrito, and Los Matadores each week (at the expense of much better, more deserving superstars). But the fact that they used Cinco De Mayo – a very Americanized holiday – to further this angle makes me angry as a bull.

Hey, Rusev! Aw, Kofi Kingston…

The crowd slept through most of Daniel Bryan vs Alberto Del Rio. Which was a shame, because this match had a little something for everybody. While WWE grinds its wheels thinking of new opponents for Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio is staring them straight in the face. And what about that crazy transition Bryan used into a “Yes!” lock? Good stuff.

Speaking of Daniel Bryan, I’m on the fence about this “Monster Kane stalking Daniel Bryan horror-movie-style” storyline. If we hadn’t spent weeks with Kane basically looking like a total goober, you might have me on board. But I still can’t get that awful looking wifebeater out of my mind. I’m not saying we should avoid supernatural mind games or anything… but… I don’t know. Kane needs to destroy something to gain back his momentum.

A lot of talk today has been about Adam Rose and his “kind of lame” “oh wait, no, it’s not lame” debut. He came out and interrupted Swagger, so… meh. Zeb Coulter stole the show here. This gimmick does absolutely nothing for me, so showing his in-ring prowess might be another good idea for people who aren’t sold. Question: why should fans want to see Adam Rose wrestle? Why should they root for him to win? Just because he likes to party? Focus more on back story and rationale, not one-dimensional characters, and then maybe you can build new stars.

Pitting The Shield against The Wyatt Family pretty much guarantees a hot finale. Consider this: neither one of these teams existed two years ago. The Evolution interference was obvious, but it still told the story that Triple H and co are seeking revenge. I’d like to see more from Randy Orton and Batista – for real, a promo would be nice every now and then – but the whole affair was fine otherwise.

Overall show was absolutely, completely, tee-totally average. A few decent segments. A few decent matches. And some new star potential that has yet to go anywhere. So be it.

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About Michael A. Wiseman

Michael is a pro wrestling enthusiast, MMA fan, and all-around geek. When not blogging, he likes to catch up on TV shows or dig in to the latest tech news. You can follow him on Twitter @therealwiseman.